Murder On The Orient Express (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
I do not like to write reviews of whodunits: you can't do justice to the analysis without explaining what happened in detail, but then it spoils the story for whoever has not read it. So, for those mystery lovers who have not read The Murder on the Orient Express so far, I will post a single line review: Go and read it! This one rocks! What are you waiting for?Now, the review for fellow mystery and Christie lovers who have read the book(or like me, re-read umpteen number of times till the pages came out of the binding!).(view spoiler)[Whodunits are like magic tricks. The writer shows you everything: the clues are all before your eyes: you rack your brains, trying to fit a solution on the jigsaw, but are unable to do so: then, in the last chapter, the author reveals that one bit of detail which you overlooked, but which was actually crucial to the solution. You kick yourself for being such an idiot, then bask in the afterglow of having been fooled by a master.A conventional whodunit has certain rules. First, there is a murder. There are a fixed number of people who could have done the murder, who are equal in terms of motive and opportunity. As the story progresses through its twists and turns, the reader keeps on guessing, shifting his suspicion from one suspect to another. If the novel is well-written, the author will succeed in totally removing suspicion from the actual murderer before the final revelation.Very rarely does an author break the basic rules and get away with it smoothly, as Agatha Christie does in this novel. It shows what a master of the craft she is.The Murder on the Orient Express is a classic locked room mystery: in the snowed-in train, one of the twelve passengers have to be guilty. And as the past history of Ratchett (the victim) as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of little Daisy Armstrong comes to light, we know that we are in for a real humdinger: because there are so many people wishing him out of the way, and many of them are likely to be on the Calais coach. But when Poirot unearths the fact that each and every one of the passengers is connected to the Armstrong family in some way, we feel that Dame Agatha has stretched coincidence to the limit, even if it is in the interest of a good detective yarn.But then all is revealed: There is no coincidence. They are all there as part of a plan, and they are all guilty! In fact, Poirot is the coincidence, the joker in the pack.I have not read another mystery where all the likely suspects are guilty! This is such a grand flouting of convention that would have fallen flat on its face, had not the story been carefully structured to make it possible. The American household is possibly the only one in the world where you can find all nationalities. If such had not been the case, the connection of the occupants of the coach to the Armstrong family would have been evident much before Christie wanted to reveal it. And the snowed-in train is the only possible setting where all the suspects could be cloistered without the possibility of outside interference, as the plotters thought the train would move on, and that the murder would be attributed to a person or persons unknown. It all fits in the end.Also, this one story where the ending is just perfect.(On rereading the story, I noticed certain incidents and snippets of dialogue (especially the one between Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham) which seemed to point in one direction but on hindsight, were crystal-clear in their meaning. This is why I love rereading Christie's books... it gives valuable insights into the author's technique.) (hide spoiler)]
4.5 stars - SpoilersThis was my second Agatha Christie read, I loved And Then There Were None - it was such an awesome book. However, I regretted buying Murder on the Orient Express - for some reason or another I thought it would be dry and boring. Thankfully, once I forced myself to actually read it, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Yea, it was an excellent read. The mystery was great - I thought I had it all figured out but it was only towards the end where I started to suspect what was really going on, and that was only because there were loads of clues, and even then I wasn't sure. The reveal at the end was just amazing.-The main issue I had was the large cast of characters — it took a little while to become familiar with everyone. -There were some parts in the beginning that were rather slow and dull.-I liked how short a read it was. Another plus was that there was a lot of dialogue — it only took me a couple of hours to finish.-I really enjoyed the way Poirot investigated the murder, it was executed really well. It was simple and easy to follow but it still managed to be entertaining. I kept changing my mind about who the killer/killers were — even at the end I was wavering.-The characters were all decent enough. Poirot didn't really wow me, the secondary characters were the ones that stood out to me. I found Mrs Hubbard and M. Bouc quite funny. I guessed who Mrs Hubbard was early on — she was the only one that I figured out correctly.-I love love loved the ending with Poirot's 'two theories' - I'm glad that the doctor and Bouc made the decision they did. That fucker was a fucker so yea, it was the right ending.All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read. I'll definitely be reading more Agatha Christie in the future.
What do You think about Murder On The Orient Express (2004)?
This was originally tagged to appear on my "book rape" shelf because, generally speaking, I would rather slam my head in a car door than read a straight-up mystery. This may be because of burn out at a young age. After devouring the entire Nancy Drew series, I had an epiphany one day that went something like this: "I don't give a damn who did it." It was like someone flipped a switch and I went cold turkey on mysteries (I even remember starting Murder on the Orient Express as a teen and thinking, "Nope. I think I'll go get a Piers Anthony book instead").However, I have since retracted this book's status as being forcibly thrust upon me because I actually enjoyed it. Color me surprised. Normally, I have these suckers figured out long before the end. After much sighing as I turned each page, knowing in my heart of hearts who the murderer was, imagine my shock when I was wrong. Really. I was. Dead wrong. The ending was, well, genius--and I shall say no more.Having said that, this is not great writing. I had to roll my eyes every time Poirot's eyes "twinkled" and it's chockfull of stereotypes, but that's not the point. The mark of a good mystery is that it keeps one guessing until the end, and Aggie (that's what I like to call her) certainly did her job well.
—Amanda
How can you not like Agatha Christie?? She's great fun!! I had read this book back in the 70's and didn't figure out whodunit....I certainly remembered the whodunit before I started this time, but there was a surprise at the ending that I didn't expect or remember....so it all made it worth it.I loved mysteries when I was a kid,and I admit I still do....I read all the juvenille mystery books in our public library,and the librarians were so impressed. Then I started reading the adult ones,and when I got disapproving looks of my choices due to adult themes, I began to buy my own books in paperback,and read them at home. Even as a 40 year old adult I had a librarian tell me that I didn't need to read Peyton Place as an adult because it was trash.....I bought a copy the next trip to the city....lol..... I didn't realize any librarian would or should censor an adult's book choices. Shortly after that the old crone retired,and all hell broke loose...modernization of the library....thank God!I have read a few of Agatha's other novels over the years,and I still felt that this one seemed so much richer,and enjoyable. Not that I didn't enjoy the others, I just felt Agatha really hit her stride on this one. I enjoyed it as much this time as before...noticing the cover of this version is the copy I have. It had been my mother's. It has all the actors involved in the movie,and I have yet to see it. Hopefully some day. I love many of the actors in the movie.My bookclub read this one for our October selection. We usually do a creepy book,like THE SHINING last year,and THE EXORCIST another. We are having a murder mystery dinner at my home tomorrow night,and with 8 different characters. I have had a blast planning the evening,and I hope everyone enjoys the results.Read this one...it's fun!
—Gary
A Not So Pleasant Train Journey17 October 2015tThis is the forth Agatha Christie novel that I've read and I must admit that it was a lot better than the last two offerings that I picked up (despite one of them being all the rave, I simply couldn't get into it as much as other books). Okay, this is your standard detective novel where there is a murder and Poirot then proceeds to interrogate everybody on the train, examine the evidence, and then come to his conclusion. However, it was the conclusion that stood out because despite what I expected, it wasn't narrowed down to one culprit. (view spoiler)[In fact everybody on the train was complicit in the murder (hide spoiler)]
—David Sarkies
